What Healthy Living Skills Do Teens Need to Know?

Take a few minutes and think about this question: What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “healthy living”? Do you think about what you eat? Exercise? Managing stress? What does it mean to you to be ‘healthy’? Healthy living skills are essential for lifelong success, as they form the foundation for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional well-being throughout life.

Now, as a parent of a teen with unique learning needs, think about your healthy living and your learner. What do you think about healthy living now?

Are your thoughts about these two areas the same or different?

If you’ve been following along with our series all about teaching Daily Living Skills (DLS) to diverse learners, you’ll know that we’ve been talking about building a solid foundation of prerequisite skills to help teach all the tasks for independent living.

In the first part of our series, we talked about how communication and executive functioning skills form the base of DLS. Today we’re adding another level to discuss “healthy living” and the abilities that make up the next layer required to teach DLS.

With so many different perceptions wrapped up in what it means to be healthy and meet our primary needs for healthy living, we’re first going to start with identifying the healthy living skills our learners really need to know.

These skills enable individuals to effectively handle the challenges of everyday life, promoting healthy independence.

5 Healthy Living Skills Teens Need to Know

Eat A Well-Balanced Diet

Does your teen know what makes up a well-balanced diet and the benefits it provides? Will they eat foods from most or all of the essential food groups? If your teen has food preferences, do they still show flexibility in trying new things?

Let’s stop and acknowledge that we know that not every adult learns this skill–regardless of any unique learning needs! Unfortunately, our food system isn’t designed to promote this, and it’s a challenge to know exactly how to help our learners figure out what well-balanced means. Hygiene is another important healthy living skill that may need to be explicitly taught to children, as it plays a critical role in overall health and well-being.

Understanding the importance of vegetables in a healthy diet is crucial for fostering good eating habits.

With that said, we generally talk about a well-balanced diet in reference to something like the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Healthy Eating Plate. This model shows one strategy for helping your teen learn how to eat a healthy diet.

Access or Prepare a Week of Healthy Meals

Can your teen prepare a week or two of simple meals and recipes that meet the requirements of a well-balanced diet and emphasize good nutrition? If your teen struggles with food preparation, can they learn to access healthy meals through delivery services, community support systems, or dining out?

Knowing what’s in a healthy diet is one thing. Preparing meals for yourself that match a healthy diet is an entirely different skill–and another critical one for your teen’s independence. It takes time to build this skill, so helping your teen learn to prepare simple recipes now can make a big difference in living independently in the future.

Notice that we used the word access instead of only focusing on preparing food. For some of our learners, the barriers to preparing their meals going forward might mean it makes more sense to learn how to access healthy food in the community.

Shop for Healthy Living

How well does your teen buy groceries and gather ingredients to make a healthy meal? Does your teen know how to make purchases that support a healthy lifestyle?

If you’re going to accomplish the first three goals, it’s probably safe to say your teen’s going to need some coaching on how they shop. Learning to buy groceries, build a meal plan, and make smart purchases can be taught while you’re working on teaching your teen other healthy living skills. Employing specific strategies for smart shopping can help your teen make informed choices and build meal planning into daily routines. Go here for resources on teaching smart shopping and building meal planning into daily routines.

Get 30 Minutes Of Physical Activity

Does your teen regularly engage in fitness activities outside of school physical education classes? What activities does your teen do for recreation that involve physical movement? Are there ways you can build this into your teen’s daily routine? (e.g., walking to the bus stop, biking to work, etc.)

Making healthy food choices is not the only thing we need to help our teens with diverse learning needs with. Parents and teachers must also help our learners make better physical activity and exercise choices. According to the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD), Americans with disabilities are demonstrably at a much greater risk for developing health problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle. We must help our learners establish healthy living routines around physical activity and exercise.

Maintaining a healthy body is crucial for overall well-being, and incorporating regular physical activity can significantly improve physical health.

Avoid Unhealthy Choices

Does your teen know what it means to be unhealthy and some of the negative impacts of an unhealthy lifestyle? Do they understand the risks of unhealthy choices like alcohol, drugs, and tobacco use? Can your teen evaluate their options and get back on track with diet and exercise if needed?

Finally, it’s not just important to teach our teens how to make healthy choices. We also need to help them actively avoid dangerous or unhealthy behaviors. As you work on the Daily Living Skills above, having a plan in place to help your teen evaluate good vs. not-so-good choices can help them later as they need to make choices without adult support. Emphasizing decision making in evaluating options and making healthy choices is crucial. Self-management strategies, such as goal setting, self-reinforcement, self-evaluation, and behavior monitoring, can be instrumental in teaching these skills effectively. Check out this guide on How to Talk To Your Teen About Unhealthy Behaviors.

Emotional Health and Mental Health

Emotional health and mental health are essential components of overall well-being, enabling individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of emotional health and mental health in promoting healthy living and adaptive and positive behavior. Healthy living programs, such as 4-H’s Health Rocks!, aim to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and drug use among young people, while also promoting healthy eating habits, physical activity, and mental health. These programs provide a comprehensive approach to health, addressing both physical and emotional aspects to ensure a balanced and healthier life for our youth. North Carolina 4-H programs, in particular, prioritize the physical, mental, and emotional health of youth, offering targeted support to help them thrive. Additionally, the Youth Advocates for Community Health (YACH) initiative allows youth to lead in improving community health, fostering leadership and responsibility while addressing health challenges in their communities.

Understanding Emotional Well-being

Emotional well-being is critical for maintaining healthy relationships, making informed decisions, and coping with stress. It involves being able to recognize, understand, and manage one’s emotions, as well as develop empathy and positive relationships with others. Healthy life skills activities, such as mindfulness and stress reduction, can help individuals develop emotional well-being and improve their overall mental health. By practicing self-management and self-determination concepts, individuals can take control of their emotional health and make positive choices that promote overall well-being. Encouraging teens to engage in these activities can help them build resilience and navigate the complexities of everyday life with confidence. Self-reinforcement can also improve a child’s self-esteem and increase the likelihood of adopting healthy behaviors, making it a valuable tool in fostering emotional well-being.

Practicing Mindfulness and Stress Reduction

Mindfulness and stress reduction techniques, such as meditation and deep breathing, can help individuals manage stress and promote emotional well-being. These techniques involve being present in the moment, focusing on the breath, and letting go of negative thoughts and emotions. By practicing mindfulness and stress reduction, individuals can improve their mental health, reduce anxiety and depression, and promote overall well-being. Healthy living programs, such as the YMCA’s Healthy Living programs, offer mindfulness and stress reduction classes, as well as other healthy life skills activities, to help individuals develop emotional well-being and improve their overall health. The YMCA also provides programs that promote overall well-being and improve community health, making it a valuable resource for families and individuals. Furthermore, the YMCA aims to improve the nation’s health through programs and activities that promote overall well-being, ensuring a holistic approach to health for all participants.

Well Being and Self-Care

Well-being and self-care are essential for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. They involve engaging in activities that promote relaxation, stress reduction, and overall well-being, such as exercise, healthy eating, and spending time with loved ones. By prioritizing self-care and well-being, individuals can improve their overall health, increase their energy levels, and enhance their quality of life. Encouraging teens to adopt self-care practices can help them develop lifelong habits that support their health and well-being. Time management logs can also be a helpful tool, enabling children to track and manage their time effectively toward achieving health goals, further supporting their self-care routines.

Importance of Self-Care Routines

Self-care routines, such as regular exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep, are critical for maintaining physical, mental, and emotional health. They help individuals manage stress, reduce anxiety and depression, and promote overall well-being. By incorporating self-care routines into daily life, individuals can improve their overall health, increase their confidence and self-esteem, and enhance their quality of life. Healthy living programs, such as 4-H’s Healthy Living programs, emphasize the importance of self-care routines and provide individuals with the skills and knowledge they need to prioritize their health and well-being. By making self-care a priority, individuals can take control of their health and well-being, and live a healthier, happier life. These routines are not just beneficial in the short term but also lay the foundation for a healthier future. Checklists and rubrics can be effective tools for teaching self-management skills, helping individuals stay organized and focused on their self-care goals.

How to Get Started with Teaching Healthy Living Skills

After reviewing the info above, have you decided it’s time to start building your learner’s healthy living skills? Unsure where to start or how to know what skills your learner needs to work on the most?

We recommend a values-based approach, focusing on what matters most to you and your learner. Want to know why? Check out our 6 Key Steps For Making Values-Based Decisions For Your Child’s Daily Living Skills.

Then download our free .pdf values-based assessment for healthy living skills. It will help you evaluate and make an informed decision about how to start working on diet, exercise, and health-related goals with your child or student. Incorporating goal setting into this process can establish clear, achievable objectives, promoting effective self-management and healthy living skills.

Further Reading

• Executive Functioning 101 Hub – Cognitive Flexibility
• Harvard – Healthy Eating Plate
• Life Skills Advocate Blog – 6 Key Steps For Making Values-Based Decisions For Your Child’s Daily Living Skills
• Life Skills Advocate Blog – Teaching Diverse Learners about “Smart Shopping”
• National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) – Sedentary Lifestyle is Dangerous to Your Health
• UNC Health – How to Talk to Your Teen About Unhealthy Behaviors
• Learn about our Life Skills Coaching program